Sutton Park in Sutton, St.Helens
SUTTON PARK in Sutton, St.Helens is a small park situated between Robins Lane, Marshalls Cross Road and Marina Avenue. At just over twenty acres, it's only one tenth the size of its near neighbour, Sherdley Park. Like Sherdley Park the land was originally owned by Colonel Michael Hughes as part of the Sherdley Estate (see Sutton's History). When Colonel Hughes sold it to St.Helens Corporation for £2,628 on May 9th, 1903 he insisted on a clause in the agreement which ensured that entrance gates would be constructed which would:
be of a handsome type with pillars of stone of a massive
character and be maintained as such forever 
Many dogs (and their owners!) get their daily exercise in Sutton Park
So plans were submitted that same year for stone pillars and 14' 3½" wide cast iron entrance gates costing £52 10 shillings. The pillars are still there but the gates are believed to have been removed during the second world war and never replaced.
It was also important to Hughes that the character of the area would not be affected by the park. So a restrictive covenant was included preventing the use within the park of:
steam-driven merry-go rounds and whistles 
A lodge, drinking fountain, bandstand and bowling greens were incorporated soon after the park opened and plans for hard courts were submitted in 1924. Colonel Hughes' wishes have been maintained through the years and Sutton Park is still essentially a quiet, open area where one can walk the dog, exercise, play a bit of cricket (see header picture ) or simply relax. There’s adequate seating plus facilities for children and young people including swings and a basketball/hard court.
This boulder at the Marina Avenue entrance is between 10-50,000 years old
Sutton Park's most notable feature is the boulder at the Marina Avenue entrance which is at least 10,000 years old. During the ice age it was brought down from the Lake District (or possibly Scotland) by ice glaciers. It’s one of two in Sutton, the other being in Dale Crescent in Sutton Leach by the passage leading to Mill Lane.
Despite its compactness Sutton Park is much loved by locals. In January 2007 St Helens Hospital applied for planning permission to convert a substantial part of Sutton Park into a temporary car park for workmen employed on a new hospital build. This would have accommodated a total of 421 vehicles for 18 months.
Within a matter of days the proposals were shelved after strong protests by the local community, demonstrating Sutton Park's importance to their environment. The St.Helens Star in its report on the protests entitled People Power , referred to Sutton Park as "a green oasis". They were not wrong! (See Sutton Beauty Blog - Save Sutton Park ). A Friends of Sutton Park community group were created in July 2007 and have been successful in obtaining grants to improve the park. Bulb planting with children from Robins Lane Primary School took place in October 2007 and a 10' high noticeboard / sign was installed in March 2008.
Sutton Park - a blizzard begins but the dog still needs walking!
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